Bayern Munich came from behind twice to eventually beat Borussia Dortmund on penalties in the DFL-Supercup.

The fourth time in five seasons these two sides met in this season opening match, Christian Pulisic had put the hosts in front before Robert Lewandowski levelled. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang thought he might have won it late on for Dortmund, but a scrappy Lukasz Piszczek own goal sent the game to a shootout.

Sven Ulreich turned out to be the hero for Bayern, saving penalties from Sebastian Rode and, most crucially, Marc Bartra to put Bayern’s pre-season woes to bed and add another trophy to their illustrious collection.

Bayern strike back after sloppy start

Dortmund have taken time to settle under new coach Peter Bosz as they’ve prepared for the new campaign, however Bayern have had a torrid time in pre-season, with five defeats in their last six games. They were looking to shake off the cobwebs here, and looked good in a competitive opening phase, with Lewandowski having one chance go over.

A mistake from Javi Martinéz however paved the way for Dortmund to take an early lead. He was dispossessed by Pulisic after a tentative pass from Arturo Vidal, with the young American winging breaking with pace all the forward, placing the ball past Ulreich, in goal for the injured Manuel Neuer.

Pulisic opens the scoring for Dortmund.  | Photo: Getty/Alex Grimm/Bongarts.
Pulisic opens the scoring for Dortmund. | Photo: Getty/Alex Grimm/Bongarts.

The champions responded quickly though, as Franck Ribéry forced Roman Bürki into a save after cutting in from the left. Then following on from a free-kick, debutant Sebastian Rudy went over the top to Joshua Kimmich, who looked like he could have been offside, but play went on and Lewandowski was the first to meet his cross into the box. For the first time in German football the video assistant was consulted, but the goal stood.

Dortmund had given debuts to Dan-Axel Zagadou and Mahmoud Dahoud, and the latter of those almost guided them back into the league. His own impressive run was halted, but the ball fell to Gonzalo Castro, with Ulreich saving his strike.

However as the half wore on Bayern were really beginning to expose the high line that Dortmund were playing at the back. After a poor season last year, Thomas Müller was looking a little like his old self with two big chances, the first saved by Bürki after Ribéry had again come in from the left, the other headed into the post and wide; further chances were denied to him by the offside flag. Corentin Tolisso and Martínez also had headers off target before the half-time whistle.

Bayern save themselves in the messiest of fashions

The first 15 minutes of the second half were quiet in the way of chances. The lively Ousmane Dembélé went wide whilst a Nuri Sahin free-kick sailed over the bar. Bayern remained dangerous, and kept exposing left-back Zagadou. The 18-year-old was looking well out of his depth, providing little cover defensively, and he ended up in the book after a stray arm went into Tolisso.

Castro would then curl a shot wide for Dortmund, before coming agonisingly close to heading in a cross from Dembélé, his head only inches from the ball. At the other end a cross from Bayern’s left found Tolisso in the box but his shot was kept out by Bürki.

A few minutes later, Bayern would again break clear with Lewandowski. A goal looked likely but he tried to square it to Kingsley Coman but it was intercepted. Dortmund then countered with blistering pace, with Dembélé finding Aubameyang. He had been little more than a spectator all match, but he did not waste this chance, beating Ulreich one-on-one to restore Dortmund’s advantage.

The home seemed now to have taken the momentum from Bayern. This could be seen with Vidal, who as he is prone to do was in danger of losing his head. Moments after picking up a yellow card for a foul on Sahin, he conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box by treading on Pulisic – a likely yellow if he hadn’t already seen one.

From a Rudy free-kick though, Bayern managed to fashion a late equaliser. From the right, it went onto the shoulder of Niklas Süle, who had followed him from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, with the ball bouncing off the bar onto the line. An almighty scramble followed, with Castro and Vidal clashing heads, whilst the ball fell to Kimmich. His strike went off Bartra, Piszczek and finally off the arm of Bürki before finally going in. Piszczek was credited with the own goal.

Kimmich (right) celebrates his key role in the late equaliser. | Photo: Getty/Alex Grimm/Bongarts.
Kimmich (right) celebrates his key role in the late equaliser. | Photo: Getty/Alex Grimm/Bongarts.

Ulreich proves to be the hero

Only Coman could muster up a shot in stoppage time, which was easily taken by Bürki. That meant the game, as per the competition rules, went straight into a penalty shootout.

Lewandowski and Dembélé stepped up first for their sides and both made no mistake. Ribéry then put Bayern’s second into the top corner before Maximillian Philipp, with virtually his first contribution after coming on late in the game, sent Ulreich the wrong way.

Kimmich, the kid who can normally do no wrong, was the first to miss out, as Bürki guessed the right way to keep his penalty out. Aubameyang then put Dortmund in front, with Rudy levelling, before Rode had his spot kick saved by Ulreich.

Vidal and Castro then scored in the fifth round of penalties, sending the shootout into sudden death. Süle hammered Bayern’s sixth into the top right corner, however fellow centre-back Bartra was tentative with his penalty, and it was saved by Ulreich to hand Bayern a second-consecutive Supercup win.

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